The Charlton Skypecasts

Most of the readers who frequent Cynic Athletic do so via links from Forever Charlton, so I'd assume that most of you reading this would have seen the message that Dave Roberts posted last week regarding the first Charlton Skypecast.

It was scheduled for last Sunday at 1pm and due to last for 1 hour, with the main topic of conversation being who would end up becoming our new manager. I was at work until late morning so I only managed to log on in time to catch the last half an hour, but when I logged in only myself and Dave were online.

I doubt that the reason for this was lack of interest from readers, but more likely the fact that some of the more casual internet users perhaps aren't familiar with Skype, don't know how to get it, and don't really know what it does. If you do know what Skype is, apologies for wasting your time with this article! if you don't know what Skype is, read on...

Skype is essentially a programme which allows you to speak to another internet user anywhere in the world, at any time of day, and totally free of charge. The programme is quick to download, easy to install, and very user friendly once you have it installed. Essentially it's just like being on the phone with someone. They can hear you through their PC speakers, and you can hear them through yours.

A Skypecast is like a conference call. Up to 100 people can be involved in the same conversation at the same time, and the idea is that eventually we could have a weekly Skypecast set up on Forever Charlton (perhaps on a Sunday evening) where Charlton fans from all over the globe can get together and discuss the weeks events at the club, and debate with each other the key issues facing Charlton and it's fans. Occasionally there may be a special guest from the club invited into these Skypecasts for an interview, and on these occasions the person who has set up the call has the ability to mute everyone except the interviewer and the interviewee. Once the interview is completed, the mute will be removed and the floor will be opened up for all Charlton fans to have their say.

That's the theory anyway.

I’m guessing that for the first few Skypecasts there won't be too many people involved, but the longer it goes on the bigger this can become, and hopefully in time the Charlton Skypecast will be packed every weekend with fans who want to share their opinions with other Addicks.

In order to use Skype you will first need to purchase a microphone which can be plugged into the back of your PC. These microphones don't have to be expensive, and can cost as little as a quid. Next you will need to go here and actually download the programme itself. Once you have done that, double click the setup icon, and the programme’s installer will tell you what you need to do next in order to get it all working.

The next step will be to wait for a Skypecast to begin (times will be published on Forever Charlton), simply click the link, the programme will launch by itself and it's as simple as that. You will be able to chat about whatever subject is currently being discussed, or change the direction of the conversation and bring up a Charlton related topic that you want to talk about.

Help for getting started with Skype can be found here, or if you can't find what you're looking for there, drop me an email (link is in the sidebar) and I'll do my best to help.

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Edit (9:24am) - Just a quick update on the manager situation. Although Billy Davies (set for an interview tomorrow) is still favourite, Dowie's odds have dropped to 15/8 overnight...